2 Kings 20:19
in 2 Kings 20But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of Jehovah which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, Is it not so, if peace and truth shall be in my days?
KJV
Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken. And he said, Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
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This verse in 2 Kings 20
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Good is the word ... - The language is, according to some, that of a true spirit of resignation and humility; according to others, that of a feeling of relief and satisfaction that the evil was not to come in his day. Such a feeling would be but natural, and though not according to the standard of Christian perfectness, would imply no very great defect of character in one who lived under the old Dispensation. Peace and truth - Rather, “peace and continuance.” The evils threatened were war and the dissolution of the kingdom.
This site's exposition
Good is the word of the Lord
Hezekiah calls the sentence good, and then adds a second sentence the commentators read two ways. Some hold it a true word of submission, an old covenant believer calling the Lord's rebuke both just and merciful, the reading Wesley gives it; others hear a self-regarding relief that the judgment falls on a future generation rather than his own, a natural but lesser feeling that Barnes and Henry both name without excusing. Both readings sit on the same two clauses, and the text gives no verdict between them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Ambrose of MilanOn Jacob and the Blessed Life, Book 1, Chapter 8.36 · Written before 397.
Surely the just Hezekiah did not rejoice that the disaster of the captivity had fallen on his children, but he could not oppose the will of the Lord, and so he received the Lord's commands with patience like a humble servant. Thus it happens that one could judge that merit and virtue could be evident even in captivity. For Jeremiah was not less happy in captivity, nor was Daniel, nor Ezra, nor were Ananias and Azariah and Misael less happy than if they had not fallen into captivity.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Good is, &c. - I heartily submit to this sentence, as being both just, and merciful. True penitents, when they are under divine rebukes, call them not only just, but good.
Not that we should be unconcerned for posterity; it is a grief to foresee evils: but we should own that the deferring of judgments is a great favour in general, and to have them deferred so long as what we may die in peace is a particular favour to us, for charity begins at home.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But, after the destruction of Sennacherib, presents were brought him from various quarters, out of respect to a king who, by his faith and prayer, saved his country; and besides, it is by no means improbable that from the corpses in the Assyrian camp, all the gold and silver he had paid might be recovered.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The concluding part of his reply was uttered after a pause and was probably an ejaculation to himself, expressing his thankfulness, that, though great afflictions should befall his descendants, the execution of the divine judgment was to be suspended during his own lifetime.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Good is the word of the Lord - He has spoken right, I have done foolishly. I submit to his judgments. Is it not good if peace and truth be in my days? - I believe Hezekiah inquires whether there shall be peace and truth in his days. And the question seems to be rather of an interested nature. He does not appear to deplore the calamities that were coming on the land, provided peace and truth might prevail in his days.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְשַֽׁעְיָ֔הוּ | yesha'yahu | Isaiah | H3470 → | 39 times |
| ט֥וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| דְּבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ | dibarta | you have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲל֛וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שָׁל֥וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וֶאֱמֶ֖ת | veemet | and stability | H571 → | |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְיָמָֽי׃ | veyamai | in days my | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙Hezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְשַֽׁעְיָ֔הוּIsaiah
yesha'yahuH3470 →39 times
ט֥וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
דְּבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבַּ֑רְתָּyou have spoken
dibartaH1696 →1141 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲל֛וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
שָׁל֥וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
וֶאֱמֶ֖תand stability
veemetH571 →
יִהְיֶ֥הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
בְיָמָֽי׃in days my
veyamaiH3117 →2304 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 10:3Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I…
it leads to
- Exodus 19:22
Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
- Isaiah 49:3
He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will display My glory.”
- Leviticus 21:6
They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be…
- Numbers 20:12
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that…
- 1 Samuel 2:30
Therefore, the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever. But now the LORD declares: Far be it…
- Exodus 19:22
Through
Psalms 39:9I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.
it leads to
- Job 2:10
“You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 2:10
Through
Zechariah 8:19“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 39:2
And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city was breached.
- Zechariah 8:16
These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates,
- Jeremiah 39:2
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Kings
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonLate 8th century BCE / Divided KingdomIsaiahEighth-century BCE prophet of Judah whose oracles make up the book of Isaiah; a central voice for messianic prophecy.
- PersonDivided kingdomHezekiahThe reforming king of Judah who trusted Jehovah against Sennacherib, spread the Assyrian letter before the LORD, was granted fifte…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, On Jacob and the Blessed Life, Book 1, Chapter 8.36; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.